# Lately all cigars taste bad to me.. Hmmm..



## PufPufPass (Feb 24, 2010)

I switched both humidor's humidifications to beads from Hertfield and now have 62-65% humidity in both as per my trusted tested hygrometers. All my cigars burn ok unless there is a construction issues, all sticks looks good, some have oily wrappers some do not, so everything looks OK, but most cigars that I did like now taste bla or just not good any more. I am not sure if the cigars themselves are just no consistent or maybe the humidity for the Nicaraguan and Honduran sticks needs to be 70-75% to taste better, even Oliva on their site suggest 70-75 for storage as I remember. I have a mix of NC and CC in my humidors.. Any suggestions, I smoked NCs mostly lately to notice this.


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## piperdown (Jul 19, 2009)

There are many, many cigars I prefer 65-70 and are blah (to me) when lower, such as partagas black, cohiba black, Kristoff's etc.
My humidors have the 65% heartfelt beads. 65% in the top, about 67-68 in the bottom.

Cigary, if he reads this, can talk more about higher humidity and cigars.


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## fivespdcat (Nov 16, 2010)

Could just be that your taste buds are "burnt" out. Have you been smoking a lot lately? Also palates develop over time and this could also be the source.


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

Happens to all of us...could be several factors: spicy foods, new medications, sinuses, allergies. I'm one of those who like my cigars at a higher RH and that means 67% to as high as 70%. I find that NC's keep their taste at higher RH than 65 or lower. I keep my CC's around 65% and they taste better to me rather than at 62. I know about the 'burn issues" of a lower RH but I'll take taste over a burn any day of the week.


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## asmartbull (Aug 16, 2009)

This may be the only thing Cary and I disagree on....
For me, NC's at 65, but I only have a few...
CC's closer to 60.....For me the flavors tend to "pop" at lower rh


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Taste is a constantly evolving creature. It will change many times during your life time.


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## JazzItUp4u (Apr 4, 2009)

I have to agree with most of the previous posts.. I can almost tell when I am begining to get sick when my cigars begin to taste off.. However, it is true that our tastes evolve over time an your palate may have just evolved. My suggestion is to go to a trusted store and try one of the same kind of sticks you have in your humi. If that stick tastes off to you, it is probably your palate... If it tastes great, then you might have a humidity problem. I know that you said that your hygrometer is trustable, but you might want to check it using the salt test... Maybe something is off..

Hope this helps.


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## Zogg (Aug 31, 2010)

My bottom drawer (NC's) is about 65, middle is 63-65, and top (CC's) is about 60

This time of year, its entirely possible you have very slight allergies that are affecting your taste without you noticing being stuffed up or anything *shrug*


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## PufPufPass (Feb 24, 2010)

Cigary said:


> Happens to all of us...could be several factors: spicy foods, new medications, sinuses, allergies. I'm one of those who like my cigars at a higher RH and that means 67% to as high as 70%. I find that NC's keep their taste at higher RH than 65 or lower. I keep my CC's around 65% and they taste better to me rather than at 62. I know about the 'burn issues" of a lower RH but I'll take taste over a burn any day of the week.


Hey Gary. I did smoke a lot lately and at times did have Pale Ale bear which is bitter to mix with a cigar smoking, and a few times did eat spicy foods before, hmmm. I think I will up my humidity as I remember some sticks that I did not care for with this new humidity tasted better with high humidity I had before with my regular rectangular humidifiers.. I think it is the humidity myself, will see. Ordering new beads now at 70%



asmartbull said:


> This may be the only thing Cary and I disagree on....
> For me, NC's at 65, but I only have a few...
> CC's closer to 60.....For me the flavors tend to "pop" at lower rh


I am still trying to see what RH is better for my tastes, I find lately that most cigars burn bad at this RH, meaning their construction is bad as the ones that do have great construction, Ashtons, Opus, Padron, burn spot on!



TonyBrooklyn said:


> Taste is a constantly evolving creature. It will change many times during your life time.


Looks like it is happening, P.S. BK to the fullest! Hahaha.. I grew up in Bay Ridge by the way, went to Poly Prep then moved to NJ to go to college, now here in FL.. Miss it, but go back a lot as 80% of my friends are still there..



JazzItUp4u said:


> I have to agree with most of the previous posts.. I can almost tell when I am begining to get sick when my cigars begin to taste off.. However, it is true that our tastes evolve over time an your palate may have just evolved. My suggestion is to go to a trusted store and try one of the same kind of sticks you have in your humi. If that stick tastes off to you, it is probably your palate... If it tastes great, then you might have a humidity problem. I know that you said that your hygrometer is trustable, but you might want to check it using the salt test... Maybe something is off..
> 
> Hope this helps.


Yea, I did the salt test, it is fine.. Maybe my palate is jacked up right now, I did smoke a lot lately compared to before.



Zogg said:


> My bottom drawer (NC's) is about 65, middle is 63-65, and top (CC's) is about 60
> 
> This time of year, its entirely possible you have very slight allergies that are affecting your taste without you noticing being stuffed up or anything *shrug*


maybe true, I am thinking of getting 70% medium Hertfield beads stick for the bottom where I have my NCs and put this Medium 65% beads stick on top drawer.. I open my humi a lot and I had to refill my beads 2x this month, I might not have enough beads.. I have the L size Ashton Savoy Humidor.


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## rah0785 (Jan 17, 2011)

Start brushing your teeth and tongue after every single piece of food you eat with any Bubblegum flavored tooth paste. After everyone stops laughing, it has the exact same cavity protection as any other harsh mint or whitening paste and leaves no lasting taste in your mouth, eliminating anything you have eaten or drank that would linger and hinder your cigar taste. Worked great for me and has me brushing 4 or 5 times a day. I'm sure you know about what drinks to pare with cigars. The chances it is your humidor is slim to none seeing nothing ever goes in their that would cause cigars to taste bad.

Good luck and don't give up. Try everything that is within reason. Also, maybe you have a lingering virus of some kind that you have not noticed yet. First thing to go when I am getting a flu, cold, or even Vertigo is the "regular" taste of my sticks. That is the only time my smokes taste awful. The one good thing about getting sick is a break from smoking.


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## PufPufPass (Feb 24, 2010)

rah0785 said:


> Start brushing your teeth and tongue after every single piece of food you eat with any Bubblegum flavored tooth paste. After everyone stops laughing, it has the exact same cavity protection as any other harsh mint or whitening paste and leaves no lasting taste in your mouth, eliminating anything you have eaten or drank that would linger and hinder your cigar taste. Worked great for me and has me brushing 4 or 5 times a day. I'm sure you know about what drinks to pare with cigars. The chances it is your humidor is slim to none seeing nothing ever goes in their that would cause cigars to taste bad.
> 
> Good luck and don't give up. Try everything that is within reason. Also, maybe you have a lingering virus of some kind that you have not noticed yet. First thing to go when I am getting a flu, cold, or even Vertigo is the "regular" taste of my sticks. That is the only time my smokes taste awful. The one good thing about getting sick is a break from smoking.


hahaha. thanks.. i just ordered 70% beads to see if it would make a diff on NC sticks.. I am a bit stuffed now, but not when I was smoking..


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

PufPufPass said:


> Hey Gary. I did smoke a lot lately and at times did have Pale Ale bear which is bitter to mix with a cigar smoking, and a few times did eat spicy foods before, hmmm. I think I will up my humidity as I remember some sticks that I did not care for with this new humidity tasted better with high humidity I had before with my regular rectangular humidifiers.. I think it is the humidity myself, will see. Ordering new beads now at 70%
> 
> *Hey Dennis....Pale Ale beer for me is a NO NO because it leaves a bitter taste for me as well. I tend to drink ...well you can see what I drink and it mixes well with any cigar. Spicy foods tend to change your tastes as well. We're all built a bit different taste wise and some peoples taste is enhanced with a higher humidity like myself...there are some cigars I just won't smoke any lower than 70% because ( for me ) it loses the taste by a significant margin. I've finally settled for 68% in all my humis except for my CC's...those I can smoke at 62% but prefer them at 65 instead. *
> This wasn't an overnight or even a one year experiment...my tastes just run that way and I've tried to adjust my RH down to 65 and it just doesn't work for me in that I tend to lose the over cigar profile. Don't get me wrong...I love my cigars and even if I grab one that was rested at 65 some of them still taste good but overall....I know what I like. Experiment with different RH with your cigars if you can but do it with adequate consistant time of rest on them...months if you are able.
> ...


Keep us posted as how your experiment is doing.


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## tobaccoman (Jan 17, 2009)

Thats why i also smoke pipes... Each tastes better after smoking the other for awhile.


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## PufPufPass (Feb 24, 2010)

thanks Gary. Dave sent me the beads yesterday, should get them Sat, how long should I wait before sticks will raise their humidity level to 70% after I get the beads 70% added?


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

PufPufPass said:


> thanks Gary. Dave sent me the beads yesterday, should get them Sat, how long should I wait before sticks will raise their humidity level to 70% after I get the beads 70% added?


A few factors dictate how quickly each cigar will get to that RH...whether or not you keep them in cello....I always let my new cigars acclimate to their environment for at least a month before I ever smoke one. This doesn't mean that they aren't at 70%....it just means I want my cigars to "rest" before I fire them up. If you're just looking to see how long it takes I'd think a couple of weeks to a month would be enough. I don't know of any measurements one could take unless you have equipment that can test the cigars RH from head to foot but that would be kind of useless IMO. What is important is consistancy in their environment...once you get that you're in like Flint.

I have been smoking a lot of cigars this past week and broke one of my own rules...smoking a cigar without proper rest. I really like the 5 Vegas Gold Maduro because of its rich deep tobacco taste with proper rest and I wanted to have another but it only had 3 months on it ( so yes, I thought WTH...) and one inch into it and I knew I messed up. It was going through its ammonia stage and I was so pissed because I wanted to taste that goodness I have had from it when it has about 10 months of rest. The cigar was too green...I could taste the ammonia and I wrestled with it for the entire smoke and punished myself for smoking a "green" cigar without resting it. Won't make that mistake anytime soon....


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## iMarc (Feb 24, 2010)

Dennis,
Have you been smoking the beetles?


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